Date: November 20, 2017
To: Members of the Ethics Commission
From: LeeAnn Pelham, Executive Director
Subject: AGENDA ITEM 10 – Executive Director’s Report for the November 27, 2017 Commission Meeting
Summary:
This report provides various programmatic and operational highlights to date since the last monthly Executive Director’s Report.
Action:
This report provides various programmatic and operational highlights to date since the last monthly Executive Director’s Report.
Annual COGEL Conference
Each year the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), holds its annual program conference for agencies, other organizations, and individuals working in the fields of governmental ethics, freedom of information, elections, lobbying, and campaign finance. This year’s 39th Annual Conference takes place in Toronto, Ontario from Sunday, December 3 through Wednesday, December 6, 2017. This year, Staff with lead responsibility for the development and delivery of our work in three program areas will attend the conference: Deputy Director and Director of Enforcement, Jessica Blome; new Chief Programs Officer, Gayathri Thaikkendiyil; and Senior Policy Analyst, Kyle Kundert. As part of this year’s program, Commission Staff will serve as panelists on two moderated panels – “Not-So-Hidden Agendas: How Elected Officials Use Outside Groups to Promote Their Agendas,” and “Great Expectations: Measuring Your Agency’s Success.” In addition, on Saturday and Wednesday, I will be attending business meetings of the COGEL national Steering Committee as a member of that committee.
Organizational and Staffing Updates
We continue to work with the assistance of the Department of Human Resources on our recruitment and hiring for our open Staff positions. Since last month’s Executive Director report, two positions for which the application period closed in October are now in the exam phase. Another position is in the post-exam referral process, and two more have now moved to the oral interview phase.
Job postings for three additional positions are in development. Two of these positions will enhance our compliance guidance and outreach activities working with Chief Programs Officer Gayathri Thaikkendiyil and the engagement and compliance team. The third position will be a Senior Information Systems Business Analyst on our Electronic Disclosure and Data Analysis team to help further build and strengthen our electronic and digital filing processes and support our priority E-filing Conversion Project. Each of these positions also will be filled using the City’s exam-based process through the City’s civil service hiring system. Detailed information and the application process for each of these positions will be available online at https://www.jobaps.com/SF/ and will be noticed broadly once the job announcement posting process has been completed. Table 1 below provides a snapshot of current hiring activities.
Table 1 -Status of Ethics Commission Positions in Recruitment
| Working Title | Division | Status | Type | Job Class Title/No |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auditor | Audits | Oral interview phase | Vacancy/non-exempt | Admin. Analyst, 1822 |
| IS Business Analyst | El. Discl & Data Analysis | Oral interview phase | Vac/Exempt | IS Business Analyst, 1052 |
| Senior Auditor | Audits | Exam Phase | Vac/non-exempt | Sr. Admin. Analyst (1823) |
| Senior Investigator/Legal Analyst | Enforcement | Exam Phase | Vac/non-exempt | Sr. Admin. Analyst (1823) |
| Electronic Disclosure & Data Analyst Programs Manager | El. Discl. & Data Analysis | Post-exam referral | Reclass of existing non-exempt 1053 position | Princ. IS Business Analyst (1054) |
| Principal Admin. Analyst | Engt/Compliance | Job posting in development. | Vac/non-exempt | Princ. Admin Analyst (1824) |
| Sr. Admin. Analyst | Engt/Compliance | Job posting in development. | New/non-exempt | Sr. Admin. Analyst (1823) |
| Sr. IS Business Analyst | El. Discl. & Data Analysis | Job posting in development. | Vac/non-exempt | Senior IS Business Analyst (1053) |
Revenues Report
Table 2 shows the revenues received by the Commission during the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2017, as of November 15, 2017.
Table 2- Summary of FY 2017-18 Revenues as of November 15, 2017
| Source | Budgeted Amount | FY 17-18 Receipts as of November 15, 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Lobbyist Registration Fees | $85,000 | $8,600 |
| Lobbyists Fines | $500 | $1150 |
| Campaign Consultants Fees | $7,000 | $2250 |
| Contact Lobbyist and Other e.g., copies made by public | $2,450 | $0 |
| Statement of Economic Interests Filings-Late Fees | $1,250 | $112 |
| Campaign Consultant Fines | $1,000 | $700 |
| Campaign Finance Fines (includes late fees and forfeitures) | $23,000 | $27,753 |
| Ethics, Other/ Administrative Fines Levied by the Commission | $7,500 | $100 |
| Major Developer Fee | $0 | $500 |
| Total | $127,700 | $41,165 |
I look forward to answering any questions about this report at your meeting on November 27th.